There appears to be a healthy contingent of Raider fans who don't care who plays QB, as long as they draft Calvin Johnson.

Hey, I think Jeff George is still available.

Yeah, Johnson's a stud.....but historically speaking, I can't think of a single instance in which a great WR sparked a bad team's turnaround.

See, the thing is, WR is the most dependent position on the team. If the QB stinks, then the WR is neutralized. If the O-line stinks, the QB gets killed, and the WR is neutralized. If the team can't run the ball, then defenses can focus on stopping the pass, and the WR is neutralized.

A WR can make a decent team good, and he can make a good team great. But put a great WR on a bad team, and you end up with.....a great WR on a bad team. 1500 yards and 12 TD's looks great on paper, but it doesn't mean much when that's 50% of your offense for the year.

On ESPN,John Clayton is reporting that the Raiders are talking to FA QB Tim Rattay. If they sign him this could mean Calvin Johnson will be the 1st overall pick in the draft or this could just mean they are wanting a vetran QB to start ahead of JaMarcus Russell.

Rattay would be a real solid fit. Here's a guy who never really got a fair opportunity last year for non-football reasons. He can operate that scheme/system, and would provide a bridge of 1-2 years to develop someone, whoever that might be. Although ... I still say this. I don't think a veteran QB tilts things as much as people make it out to be. It might be a slight nudge, but in the end, I think the Raiders will make the choice based on what they think is the right move, not based on "need", persay.

This would be a good move for the Raiders. Rattay really isn't that bad...granted, he's not that good either...but he allows them to draft CJ and take Trent Edwards or Drew Stanton at the top of the second. That would be a pretty awesome draft for them.

Rattay is a great fit for the Raiders in their new WCO look. Signing Rattay certainly doesn't mean they won't draft a QB, but it does give them negotiating leverage and gives them options with #1 overall.

People seem to forget that theres a reason he didn't start ahead of Bruce Gradkowski....

Speaking of the Bucs, what are the odds they draft a QB? I think Gruden has developed a new fetish with QB's.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Job

On another note, Nicklas Backstrom is amazingly good.

Quote:

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

People seem to forget that theres a reason he didn't start ahead of Bruce Gradkowski....

The main reason why Grads beat out Rattay on the depth chart is that Rattay is a "gamer", and is a lot better in game time than he is in practice. Gruden was frustrated with him during camp and "doghoused" him to the bottom of the depth chart. Rattay clearly outperformed Grads in game time, however, and made the offense much more productive.

They should just got David Carr when he was avaliable, I now think they should pick up Stanton in the third. For now I think they should get Rattay I guess and Walter is obviously not the answer his numbers explain everything.

I doubt they think Rattay is the Long term solution at QB. They're aware that JaMarcus is not a finished product yet.. and Rattay would try to hold them over until they feel Russell is ready.

Much like San Francisco did with Rattay and Alex Smith.

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